She felt the warmth of the sun sending it's goodbye for
the day as she walked side by side with him. There was a slight chill in the
air, having rained an hour ago, with an occassional breeze playing with her
hair. Birds sang around her as trees sighed, relishing the recent shower they've had. The ground felt hard against her
feet, her shoes clicking quietly against the cement, as her eyes, open, stared
in front of her, seeing nothing.
There wasn't a single soul around and she suddenly
registered Hei grabbing her hand.
'We're almost there' he said as Yin nodded to him.
Hei was lost in his own thoughts, eyes taking in every
detail of his surroundings, always on the alert. It would be foolish to think
the Syndicate wasn't on their heels. It was always there, watching and waiting
for the right moment to ambush them and break them apart.
Yin sensed a change in her surroundings. There wasn't any
warmth in the air, evening rapidly giving way to night, though she could feel a
source of heat frequently.
Streetlamps, she decided.
The ground beneath her felt softer than before. There was
no concrete seperating her and the earth anymore. Lots of voices reached her
ears, a bright feeling, and suddenly her fear of getting lost blared in her
head, impulsively making her tighten her grip around Hei's hand.
Hei registered her grip and stopped in compliance,
yanking at her hand to do the same, which stopped her promptly.
'What's wrong?' Yin knew Hei must be bending down to her
height, because she could hear her voice from somewhere before her, as opposed
to hearing it from her side.
'Yin?' his grip on her hand tightened gently
She moved her head to the left, in an attempt of
indicating the crowd, which Hei understood. He rested his arm on her shoulder
assuringly.
'We're at the market, don't worry. Don't use the specter,
okay?'
Yin nodded, facing where she could hear his voice.
'I won't lose you, Yin.' he said finally. before they
resumed their slow walk, hand in hand,
closer than before.
She heard his voice change. Very common for him, but
something she didn't grab quickly. He sounded happy. She looked to her side, at
him. He isn't Hei anymore. She looked away. He's Li now.
Yin tuned out of Hei's conversation with various
shopkeepers, inquiring and bargaining about fruits and vegetables. Instead, she
concentrated on the almost missing warmth in the atmosphere, relishing it
whenever she came close to a source of heat, and how Hei's grip tightened every now and then.
His hold was gentle, even if it was tight. His grip was
as welcome as the heat she wanted. Amidst confusion and uncertainity he was her
anchor. She felt strangely happy and content
with him around. Like... like his cooking, she decided, with an
almost invisible smile. Like Mao's fur, like the moonlight... like her mother.
Yin gasped as she realised Hei wasn't anywhere around
her.
Where did he - ?
Panic seized her as she felt around with her arms, trying
to locate him. Needing to.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
'Can you pack these for me?' Hei asked the shopkeeper,
smiling.
'Sure, kid' the old man smiled before his attention got
diverted
'What the - ?'
Hei looked over his shoulder, eyes widening as he did so.
Not a second was wasted as he dropped his bags and hurried to her.
'Yin!' he called out, arms on her shoulders, the warmth
stopping her in an instant.
She felt as though life returned to her.
'Hei' she breathed out softly, trying to calm herself
down
'What were you thinking?!' he hissed, slightly
shaking her by her shoulder
'Didn't you listen to what I said earlier?!'
Yin closed her eyes, pausing herself.
'You almost got your spectre out!'
She opened her mouth to say something, before her gaze
fell downwards.
'Hei' she mumbled again, even lower.
He straightened, realising there was a reason to her
freaking out.
'What's wrong?' he asked, letting his arms fall to his
sides.
'Let's go back' she asked him.
He made a noise, to disagree when she grabbed his arm
pleadingly. He paused, frowning, before letting out a sigh [worrying]
'Fine. But you're going to explain'
Yin nodded as he took her hand and returned to the shop.
'Sorry about that' he apologized, picking his shooping up
and paying the man.
'Ah, young lady! She looks troubled' the old man said,
returning some change.
Hei laughed casually, 'No, no. It's nothing, actually'
before giving her a side glance; and sure enough, her expressions (not
her eyes) betrayed her feelings. Hei's eyes narrowed further as he made his way
out.
Silence continued as their companion for a while as they
exited the market. A little furthur down the street, when Hei thought there
were no people around, he let go of Yin's hand.
He didn't notice her stopping as he continued down the
street. Yin's hand twitched, grabbing thin air, longing for the warmth again.
Her (absent) gaze fell to her feet as she tried to catch up to him
'Hei?' she called out as he slowed his pace, but still
refused to look her way.
'Sorry.' she said, still looking downwards.
He sighed in frustration. 'Don't be. I'm sure it wasn't
your fault.'
Yin nodded, still not looking at him.
'Yin, I know you realise the position we're in. But
just... try to be more careful, okay? Mao, Huang and the others... (Amber, Yin
thought) don't let their sacrifice go waste.'
Yin nodded again. 'I'm sorry.'
Hei could hear people in large crowds exiting the market,
knowing that wasn't a good thing, he looked at Yin.
'Let's go home quick, okay?'
They started off once again. Yin didn't take more than 5
steps when she felt something wrong. Someone knocked her off her footing from
behind, and she felt her breath leave her,as did her contact with the ground.
The next thing she knew, she was splayed on the ground, face down, her limbs
throbbing with pain.
Hei looked behind just as she touched ground, his
expression going from concerned to livid, hurrying to the fallen girl.
'Yin!'
'We're so sorry, sir! We weren't looking - '
'Are you all right?'
' - where we were - '
Yin opened her eyes, slowly, and turned to face Hei, as
Hei breathed a sigh of relief.
'Lady, our profuse apologies!'
She nodded absently as she got to a sitting postion, head
feeling dizzy.
Hei grimaced as he touched her forehead -
'It hurts' she said
- feeling the warmth of Yin's blood on his fingers.
'You're wounded, Yin. Hold on' he said as he slowly
piggybacked her with her arms circling his neck automatically.
'We're sorry!', the men said, bowing to Hei.
'It's all right' Hei said, smiling, before turning away
from the crowd and continuing away from the crowd, smile dropping the very next
second.
'Are you okay?' he whispered to her, as he felt her
breath on his neck hitch with pain.
'It hurts' she repeated.
Hei frowned. Sure she got a bruise on her forehead but it
shouldn't be paining that much.
'Your head? I could slow down if you want me to.'
Yin shook her head, snuggling deeper into his shoulder
'... knee hurts' she mumbled with a slight wince
'You want me to slow - '
'No'
He frowned again. Even when she's hurting?
'What's wrong?' he asked, thinking of what could have
disturbed her to such an extent, eyes fixed on the road ahead.
But Yin fell silent and did not answer him, mulling over
memories long forgotten.
